[APWG] PBS program

[Patricia_Ford at fws.gov]

On Wednesday, April 20 & 27, 2005 (from 9-11pm, check local listings), PBS
will premiere a compelling night of programming on the hot button issues
facing our environment today. NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC'S STRANGE DAYS ON PLANET
EARTH, winner of the Wildscreen 2004 film festival Panda Award for Best
Series and the Natural History Museum One Planet Award for its look at
global warming, crosses the science and nature content with the look and
style of the X-Files,(think less David Attenborough and more David Lynch).
Hosted by award-winning actor, writer, director and environmental activist
Edward Norton  the series will take a hard look at the cause and effect
relationship between what we as humans do to the Earth and what that in
turn does to our environment and ecosystems.

Each of the four one-hour episodes is constructed as a high-tech detective
story, with the fate of the planet at stake.
Episode 1: Invaders Alien species of plants and animals have invaded every
continent. They have enormous powers; they spread disease; they devour our
buildings. Some are destroying the very land under our feet. Think of them
as the first wave of an assault that could drive the greatest mass
extinction since the end of the dinosaurs. What is causing this invasion,
and what can we do to stop the rising tide?

Episode 2: The One Degree Factor Detectives usually break mysterious cases
when they first see the connections among seemingly unrelated clues.
Consider these: Dust clouds are building high over the Atlantic. An entire
population of caribou is declining, their numbers dwindling, while other
species are pushed to the limits of their physical survival in the oceans.
A respiratory illness, once uncommon among children in Trinidad, is now
widespread. Amazingly, many scientists now believe that these disparate
phenomena may be linked to global climate change.

Episode 3: Predators Deep in the wilds of Venezuela, the natural order is
being turned inside out. Miles of verdant forest and savannah have given
way to small and scattered islands. Some of these islands are now overrun
by bands of voracious howler monkeys, a glut of iguanas and hordes of
ravenous ants. What is driving this bizarre transformation? A team of
scientists believes that life here is running amok; in large part because
its top predators are gone. Similarly, the majestic wilderness of
Yellowstone National Park is also showing signs of change that some
scientists trace to the depletion of natural predators. Familiar and
revered forests have vanished. Researchers are linking these forest losses
to the expulsion of the gray wolf some 70 years ago. In Venezuela and
around the world, experts are learning that predators seem to play a
crucial role in the structure and function of entire ecosystems. When the
predators disappear, the consequences can be dramatic. If predators are so
vital, should they be brought back and can they be?

Episode 4: Troubled Waters In the American heartland there have been
strange disappearances. Frogs are vanishing without a trace. Further north,
in the green waters of Canada's St. Lawrence River, beluga whales are
mysteriously dying - their white corpses found washed up on the stony
shores. A world away on the Great Barrier Reef, swarms of monstrous sea
stars are overrunning this marine paradise. At first glance, these stories
seem unrelated. But, in fact, scientists suspect they may be part of a
worldwide transformation brought on by toxins in the water. Have Earth's
vibrant waterways become massive delivery systems for invisible poisons?
And are some of these poisons reaching our faucets? As scientists verify
that our problem with toxins is mounting, cutting-edge research using
plants and bacteria draw on the building blocks of life itself as a
solution to problems vexing the planet.

The Web site for the program is http://www.pbs.org/strangedays/

The Web site for National Geographic's Strange Days on Planet Earth (
www.pbs.org/strangedays), launching at the end of February, will explore
the major themes of each of the four episodes, providing viewers with
additional information on the series. The site will deliver users to
places, real and virtual, where they can establish lasting relationships
with communities that encourage interest in the environment and
conservation of our natural resources. It will also include access to a
consortium of zoos, aquariums, botanical gardens, and science and
technology centers, as well as richly varied media - including video clips
and interactive activities.
Other outreach tools will provide learning resources for environmental
educators, at locations such as environmental education camps, zoos and
aquariums, parks and wildlife refuges, as well as middle-school classrooms.
Services will be available for free online and will include an in-depth
educators' guide, video clips, a glossary, interviews, printable
educational materials, episode summaries, and weblinks. All of the
activities are peer reviewed, correlated to national education standards
and conform to the North American Association for Environmental Education
(NAAEE) Excellence in Environmental Education - Guidelines for Learning
(K-12).